OLATHE, Kan. – Garmin International, the world's leading GPS manufacturer, has taken two popular Garmin handheld GPS receivers and rolled them into one great new unit -- the GPS 12MAP. The GPS 12MAP combines the enhanced software features of the popular GPS III® Plus with the rugged design of the GPS 12.

"This is the perfect marriage of two extraordinary handheld GPS units," said Gary Kelley, director of marketing, Garmin International. "Now fans of Garmin's GPS 12 will have all the physical features of their favorite unit plus the added benefit of a detailed internal basemap."

Similar to the GPS III Plus, the basemap on the GPS 12MAP will include cartography information for North and South America including a database of cities, interstates, lakes, rivers, railroads, coastlines and exit information for the federal interstate highway system. Even more remarkable, the GPS 12MAP takes mapping one step further with an added CD- ROM capability. Simply insert one of Garmin's MapSource® CD-ROMs into your PC, and download mapping information into your 12MAP.

The 12MAP boasts the same physical characteristics as Garmin's 12CX including a rugged, waterproof case, dedicated zoom keys for quick map scaling and a high resolution LCD display complete with backlighting.

"The outdoorsman will truly have it all with this unit," said Kelley.